Attention Skills Gone to Pot: What Did You Expect From Your Connected, Crazy Life?

Thomas Metzinger, a philosopher, argues that the Internet isn’t changing the way we think, but it is attacking our finite commodity of “attention.”  Feeling strongly about our “attention management,” the philosopher worries.  “Attention is a finite commodity and absolutely essential to living a good life,” he laments.

Given that, you and I won’t be living our best life while we caress our latest gadget. But wait: Do we really believe that?

While a philosopher’s opinion might not stop me in my tracks, a Harvard neuroscientist’s might.  That would be Dr. Joshua Greene who states that, for all its pretense, the internet is “nothing more and nothing less, than a very useful, and very dumb butler.”

His is a blunt way of saying we’re giving our technology a lot of power and should beware what it’s doing to us.  All this serves as an introduction to the book, “Is the Internet Changing the Way You Think?” nicely reviewed in the NY Times earlier this month.

John Borkman, founder of the online science-and-technology site Edge.org, approaches new technology not by asking “What does it do?” but rather, “What values does it foster?” and “What is lost by using it?” His hefty 408-page book has engaging contributors (over 150) from the sciences, visual artists , architects and musicians who are creatures from an earlier age who have had to adapt to the changes wrought by the Internet.

In other words, they knew life before computers.

For your future and that of your company, current conclusions set forth in striking essays must be reckoned with honestly:

1. From enthusiasts and skeptic alike, the ability to carve out time for uninterrupted, concentrated though may prove the most important skill one can hone.
2. The future is bright for “the survival of the focused.”  Individuals who are gifted with ways to stay focused and on target will forge ahead while the rest of us flail about in a Web-based vortex.”
3. The lack of real experiences will affect the creative process.
4. Online experiences decrease and replace the desire for the authentic experience. Why engage with real people when my fictional community – so easy and available – suits me fine.

Leaving technology behind during a sabbatical could be one of the most rewarding experiences you can have – now. You could learn first-hand just how much your “connectedness” is in command of you, your life and your productivity at work

The way in which we live with technology has both good and ill effects. It’s time to confront this reality. And smart companies that instill a new sense of responsibility for their emloyees have a chance to  harness focus and thrive.